The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1887-05-20
bob" Ingersoll's Capture.
A THRILLING CHAPTER OF THE GREAT IN
FIDEL's WAR EXPERIENCE.

81 served in Bob Ingersolls COM
mand, said veteran stopping at the
City Hotel, "and whenever | want to
have a good laugh l recall to mind the
incidents connected with his capture
in Tennessee ! have seen somewhere
a cruel paragraph to the effect that the
Colonel surrendered very willingly,
and l want to brand that falsehood for
just what it is. A braver man never
saw in all the four years service.
"We were scattered over good
deal of territory, surrounding a little
village at the time the Colonel was
taken and cared for by the Johnnies.
We were in a skirmish at the time,
and the Colonel was trying to get to a
demoralized wing Of his command.
As he was passing through a series of
cattle pens he was surrounded by lot
of Confederates, and commanded to
surrender. But he did not do it worth
a cent. He kept right on running at
break neck speed, He was not so
stout then as now, and as a pedestrian
was no sloucL. The bullets were fly
ing about him thick as hail. If he
could get to another branch command
he felt that he could rally the boys and
win the fight. A number of his men
saw that he was in imminent peril, and
that if he didn't surrender he would be
killed, and yelled at the top of their
voices to stop and surrender. He
needed, but could see that he did so
with regret and disgust. Here is
where the humor began. When the
Colonel stopped he threw up his hands
and screamed out:
" Stop firing, I'll acknowledge your
id old Confederacy.'
"The Colonel was taken over to
store for safekeeping, and he proved
to be great curiosity. People fiocked
to see him, listened to his stories,
laughed and declared they were having
more fun than they ever had in their
lives. That night the Colonel sat
around the store until a goodly number
OF rebels came in, and they began to
treat and tell yarns. Finally the
crowd overfiowed the place and blocked
the entrance to it. Then the Colonel
went outside. The boys were all feel
ing we'll under the potency of drinks
and words, and every man, woman and
child within the sound of his voice
loved him. Directly the Colonel vas
asked to make a speech. This was
what he was working for, and min.
ute later he was addressing the crowd,
and it was a right rough crowd, too.
"No lecture that great orator has
ever delivered had so much that was
good in it. 1t fairly bubbled over
with the milk of human kindness. He
pictured how regretfully the North
took up arms against the South, re-
minding his hearers that they fired the
first shot in the assault on Fort Sumter.
Then he went off on slavery, placing the
whites before him in the unfortunate
light of the blacks-people with souls
and all the instincts of the whites-but
downtrodden for no other reason than
they were black. He pictured the
ravagers of eternity, where those who
had held human souls in bondage were
'"hSN oo'c'S ehO JuuS'nouo tuIOuc LOT
sentence to be passed for deeds done
in the flesh. 1t was a touching ap.
peal, and brought out streams of tears
and storms of applause from the ones
who had but few hours before shot
at and captured him. At moment
when the most pathetic touches were
being given his remarks, General For.
est, the Confederate cavalryman whose
command had made the capture, rushed
into the crowd all aglow with excite
ment, but not anger, and exclaimed:
Here, IngersolI, stop that speech,
and I'll exchange you for a Govern
ment mule
at was but short time until Colo
mel 1ngersoll was paroled. He was
demora'izing the whole of that COM
mand, and would have had it revolving
against its commander had he been
given the levelage for two or three
days which was accorded him the first
day"